Darwin Nunez struck the winner as Liverpool maintained their perfect start to the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 1-0 victory at RB Leipzig.
Arne Slot’s side weathered a bright opening from the home side to steal in front on 27 minutes when Nunez touched home Mo Salah’s header on the line to snare his second goal of the season.
Virgil van Dijk then saw a header from a right-wing corner tipped over the crossbar before Leipzig were fortunate to survive a penalty shout when Willi Orban tripped Nunez in the box.
Alexis Mac Allister clipped the crossbar with a superb effort as the visitors continued to dominate in the second period before Caoimhin Kelleher came to the rescue with a fine stop to deny Benjamin Sesko late on.
The result sees Liverpool join Aston Villa at the top of the UEFA Champions League standings with three wins from three outings.
Next up, Liverpool visit Arsenal in a key clash at the Premier League summit on Sunday afternoon. Leipzig host Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Talking Point – Two down, one to go in massive week for Liverpool
The Reds returned from the international break faced with three daunting matches in a short space of time.
They passed the first test against an impressive Chelsea at the weekend and once again showed added steel under Arne Slot to beat a Leipzig outfit who are still undefeated in this season’s Bundesliga.
It means they have now won 11 of their opening 12 games in a campaign for the first time in their illustrious history ahead of a crunch clash at fellow title hopefuls Arsenal on Sunday.
If they can navigate that successfully it will further bolster the early view that Liverpool are going places under Slot, although the fixture list remains unforgiving over the next month or so with the likes of Brighton, Aston Villa, Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Manchester City offering major hurdles as they look top push on all fronts.
Player of the match
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool). As ever, the towering Dutchman was a calming presence at the back, marshalling the defence superbly and once again demonstrating why sorting a new contract for the club captain is vital.
Player ratings
RB LEIPZIG: Gulacsi 8, Henrichs 7, Geertruida 6, Orban 6, Lukeba 7, Vermeeren 6, Haidara 7, Openda 7, Simons 6, Nusa 6, Sesko 7. Subs: Bitshiabu 6, Kampl 6, Baumgartner 6, Poulsen 6, Elmas n/a.
LIVERPOOL: Kelleher 8, Alexander-Arnold 7, Konate 8, Van Dijk 8*, Tsimikas 7, Szoboszlai 7, Gravenberch 7, Mac Allister 7, Salah 7, Nunez 8, Gakpo 8. Subs: Diaz 7, Robertson 6, Jones 7, Gomez 6.
Match Highlights
27’ – GOAL! – RB Leipzig 0-1 Liverpool: (Nunez). Nunez makes sure on the line after Salah had headed Tsimikas’s cross from the byline towards the far post.
49’ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Gakpo somehow fails to beat Gulacsi from close range after being surprised by a mix-up from Nunez’s right-wing cut back.
70’ – LIVERPOOL CHANCE! Mac Allister plays a delightful one-two with Szoboszlai but then sees his 20-yard curler clip the crossbar.
72’ – RB LEIPZIG CHANCES! Konate is caught on the ball and the hosts pounce. Simons works it to Sesko in the area but Kelleher makes a superb stop to keep him at bay. Liverpool don’t clear their lines properly from the resulting corner and Kelleher again comes to the rescue as he back pedals quickly to tip Simons’ deflected shot over the top.
